12 JUL 3301
Leaked Data Causes Concerns over Latest Imperial Technology
News of technical documents posted anonymously via the shady
Professor Dex has been missing for several years and it is widely believed that his sudden disappearance was connected to the 4EverYoung life-extension technology scandal. Allegations of shortcuts and the withholding of critical data were made following a spate of cases where users of the technology suffered various deforming and debilitating mutations. Dex vanished shortly before he was due to give evidence to the official inquiry investigating the allegations.
According to the latest story, research seized from Professor Dex at the time of the 4EverYoung scandal formed the basis of the design for a number of the latest Imperial prototypes including the Imperial Hammer and the Prismatic Shield Generators. Anecdotal reports of side effects from the new technology have already begun surfacing and a number of concerned groups have called for an official statement from the Senate about the leak.
One report claims that the harmonic adjustments in the design of the Prismatic Shield Generator can cause temporary cognitive impairment and even psychosis. Other reports link a form of high-level radiation emitted by the Imperial Hammer with increased rates of sterility and hormonal imbalances. One angry commentator even claimed it had caused him to develop female physical characteristics.
12 JUL 3301
The Birth of an Empire
Continuing GalNet’s series about the defining moments in human history, famed historian Sima Kalhana talks about how the Empire came to be.
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The Empire has become such a dominant presence in human culture that it is easy to forget that for almost a century the heart of what was to become the Empire was just a single system. The Achenar system was first colonised in the middle of the 23rd century. It was founded by an expedition led by Marlin Duval, a wealthy woman who had grown disillusioned by the ever increasing rigidity of the Earth governments and stifling social conformity.
Marlin Duval vowed to get as far from Earth as she could, and after a long and treacherous journey across what was then unexplored space, most of the convoy eventually reached the Achenar system.
The system of Achenar was chosen for the outdoor world orbiting one of its gas giants, already capable of supporting human life, now known as Capitol. There was already life on the planet and though Duval didn’t know it at the time, one of the few known sentient species watched their landings.
Back then, life was known to be plentiful throughout the galaxy, though it wasn’t appreciated how rare sentient life was. Before long the species was made extinct by the settlers, mainly through imported bateria. Much later, this extinction would later be used as a pretext for Federal intervention in the system.
Under Marlin Duval the population lived under idealistic democratic rule with elected Senators representing the people. This changed dramatically after she died in a speeder crash. Her brother, Henson Duval, then assumed control and established the now familiar line of imperial succession. Some claim that he killed his sister to claim power, but this was never proved.
For many years succession was restricted to the male line, and it was claimed various means were used to restrict royal births to only male children. This practice was later abandoned, and recent events at the heart of the Empire indicate that male succession may soon be broken.
In 2324 Federal forces attempted to invade Achenar, with the pretext of causing the alien extinction, but also because of Achenar’s refusal to join the Federation. It was the conclusion of this war which resulted in the birth of the second of humanity’s great power blocs, and cemented Henson’s position as a powerful leader of his people.